I discovered photography at age 13 when I received my first real camera: a tiny point-and-shoot Canon. Since then I've experimented with other point-and-shoots, and both film and digital SLRs. I have been photographing people ever since I first picked up a camera. I've always preferred taking pictures of a subject with emotions and personality as opposed to something like land or trees. I like to be able to get to know my subjects as I'm photographing them. My favorite aspect of portraits is lighting, which is evident in the work of the photographers whose portraits I admire most: Jill Greenberg [manipulator.com] and Laurie and Charles Kay [laurieandcharles.com] I mainly shoot outdoor portraits because I feel like people's interactions with their environment can amplify their pictures.